I Am The Swarm

The response from the Ketuo elder was within General Mid’s expectations. Without significant benefits or deep ties, why would anyone risk their lives? Not even General Mid himself, let alone the Yuntu Race, had the influence to demand such a sacrifice.

But that didn’t matter. There were individuals—or rather, forces—whose influence was more than sufficient. In truth, this situation had little to do with the Yuntu Race. Their presence here, and the heavy losses they had suffered, were entirely the result of the Interstellar Technological Confederation’s machinations.

While the Interstellar Technological Confederation was currently rife with internal factions and alliances, making it difficult to discern who was aligned with whom, any faction that didn’t want to expose these internal conflicts and divisions had to give the Yuntu Race an explanation. Or rather, they had to provide an explanation and set an example for all the civilizations participating in this campaign against the Swarm.

General Mid had long since communicated the situation on the front lines to his people. The Yuntu leadership didn’t hesitate either, rallying a group of friendly forces and approaching the faction that had pushed them into this war.

After a heartfelt discussion, the message was clear: the Yuntu Race had suffered heavy losses, and while there was a small element of their own fault, the majority of the damage was due to following orders. Now, a portion of their forces was trapped by the Swarm. Reinforcements had arrived, but the Yuntu’s voice wasn’t strong enough to sway them. This matter required the intervention of the higher-ups. The other civilizations were watching, and it was crucial not to let them down.

Surprisingly, after this plea, the Ketuo civilization received a mysterious call. Shortly after, Elder El, who was on the front lines, underwent a dramatic change in attitude and proactively reached out to General Mid. He spoke of the close ties between their two civilizations, how they had always been neighbors in the same star region, and how they had never had any conflicts throughout recorded history. For the sake of their enduring friendship, they must cooperate wholeheartedly this time.

Elder El mentioned that although he had initially refused the request to rescue the trapped Yuntu forces, he had reported the matter to his people and convened a council of elders. After a passionate speech, the council decided that they must help.

He went on and on, emphasizing that the two civilizations were like brothers and should not be divided. However, this favor would need to be acknowledged, and the Yuntu Race must remember it. If the Ketuo ever needed help in the future, the Yuntu should not hesitate to return the favor.

General Mid naturally agreed, expressing that true friendship was revealed in times of adversity. The Yuntu Race would never forget this kindness and would be ready to help whenever the Ketuo needed it.

Moreover, since this task wasn’t for their own benefit but for the higher-ups, any losses incurred would naturally be covered by the higher-ups. And now that the decision to fight had been made, the Yuntu’s favor was a nice bonus.

This intricate web of communication didn’t take long, thanks to the quantum communication system, which allowed the various factions separated by hundreds of light-years to communicate without delay.

Two days later, the Ketuo reinforcements joined forces with the remnants of the Yuntu fleet. Faced with the Swarm forces hot on their heels, the Ketuo didn’t hesitate and immediately opened fire.

The Ketuo were actually quite confident about this war. Thanks to their use of sublight engines during their journey, their communications had remained uninterrupted.

As the first reinforcements to arrive on the battlefield, the Ketuo had full access to the Yuntu’s battle reports and intelligence on the Swarm. So, during their journey, they spent their time studying these reports.

They discovered that while the Swarm’s numbers were vast, they were somewhat hollow. The Swarm considered any unit over 500 meters in size a large combat unit. In contrast, the mid-tier civilizations like the Ketuo wouldn’t even consider deploying ships smaller than 3,000 meters.

This size difference translated into a significant gap in combat power, further exacerbated by the disparity in energy supply systems. The Ketuo generally believed that as long as they maintained distance and defended against the Swarm’s close-combat Primordial Bodies, a single Ketuo ship could take on ten Primordial Bodies without issue.

This advantage would only grow in large-scale battles. Fifty million Yuntu ships, they believed, could not only hold their own against 200 million Primordial Bodies but could even achieve a decisive victory if their numbers were doubled.

The Yuntu’s current predicament, in the Ketuo’s view, was entirely due to falling into a trap. First, they had been ambushed by the Swarm, exploiting the limitations of their warp travel. Then, during their attempt to regroup, they had been hit again, losing a significant portion of their combat strength before the battle even began. Finally, the entire fleet had been encircled by the Swarm, leaving them no room to maneuver and forcing them to endure the Swarm’s attacks head-on. This, the Ketuo believed, was the primary reason for the Yuntu’s defeat.

In the Ketuo’s eyes, if not for the heavy losses suffered by the Yuntu’s 15 million ships, these forces alone, given enough space to maneuver, could have eventually worn down the entire Swarm fleet over time.

Now, with the Ketuo’s 60 million ships—equivalent to at least 55 million Yuntu ships—they believed they could easily defeat the Swarm.

More importantly, the other two waves of reinforcements were on their way. By adopting a strategy of advancing when the enemy retreated and retreating when the enemy advanced, they could keep the Swarm engaged until the reinforcements arrived. At that point, it might even be possible to completely annihilate these Swarm units.

This would be the greatest victory in the decades-long war between the Swarm and the confederation. Just thinking about the rewards after the war was enough to make them giddy with excitement.

Seeing the Ketuo’s confidence and their eagerness to achieve a major victory, General Mid carefully considered whether to warn them to be cautious. After all, the Swarm’s secrets meant they likely had many hidden cards up their sleeves, and overconfidence could be dangerous.

But in the end, he decided against it. Fortunately, he didn’t, because the Swarm once again did something that left him utterly baffled. Faced with the Ketuo’s attack, the Swarm forces crumbled upon contact. Over 300 million Swarm units simply turned tail and fled.

This wasn’t a tactical retreat—it was a full-blown rout, so thorough that even the trapped remnants of the Yuntu fleet, numbering over 2 million, were left behind.

This Yuntu fleet, which had already given up hope, found itself miraculously saved, escaping against all odds.

Faced with this situation, not only were the Yuntu stunned, but the Ketuo were also at a loss. Logically, this was the perfect time to pursue the fleeing enemy. But even the Ketuo, confident as they were, weren’t complete fools. Such a bizarre turn of events would make anyone suspicious. Without a full understanding of the situation, they dared not take the risk.